First look continued...

In my last post I talked a lot about the differences. Now the similarity I found in the Credit card experience was amazing... The credit card companies make a fool out of you as efficiently as the Indian Credit card companies! Yes! With their interest rates, hidden charges, attractive offers containing hidden charges, so on and so forth... Believe me folks, I have always been a great fan of the Credit cards, all my good friends know my credit history in India :) And the same story continues in US too... :) I have now learned how to say "NO" to the credit card customer care executives though :) I only have 1 credit card now. I have always been advising all my friends to have credit cards, if they have patience to track your own transactions and if they have guts to fight back in case of any disputes...

In first few months only I was a victim of one such case. Some XYZ company got my credit card details and after my realization of fruitlessness of the offer made to me, I called the customer care support and canceled my order. But in spite of the cancellation, the company kept on charging me some bucks (intentionally?) I filed a case of dispute against the company and the charges were reverted immediately. The episode repeated once again this month also. Finally, I after calling both the companies and the bank couple of times, I got rid of the bills.

In continuation with the same topic here are some more "systems" I mentioned in my last post...

• The traffic flows in exactly opposite direction. :)

• Lane rules are followed very very strictly.

• Honking ( Blowing the horn) is strictly prohibited unless and until extremely necessary :) I still remember the Sinhgad road and Karve road and the traffic in Pune, blowing loud horns all the way... I am wondering right now, how will I be able to survive in this situation once I come back to India! ( Hahaha, Don't worry, I am kidding. I have not yet become an American! :))

• The roads, the lanes, the over bridges, multi storied bridges are built with extreme intelligence and planning!

• The roads here are normally numbered than naming. e.g. I am living on 148th AVE NE. i.e. a main road with number 148. in the North east direction. The cross roads are known as streets. e.g. NE 40th St etc. This is just a general rule. Because, you can still find the roads with names like madison St, Lake AVE etc. in the downtowns.
  

• A downtown is a planned city center where there are many business towers and shopping malls and shopping places around along with few high profile residential places around.

OK. This much is good enough for today. Talk to you all in the next post... Till then good bye and take care... Please leave your opinions about the blog. I would like to hear from you!

The first look...

Before coming to the USA ("the" before "USA" is a must!) I was wondering, how will be my experience? How the cities in America look like? Are the people really friendly there? How will be my first on-site experience, so on and so forth. Nothing new. Everyone who gets a chance to roam around the world for what so ever opportunity always wonders this way for the first time.

Now, I have already completed a stay of 7+ months here in the United States. So just thought of putting all the observations,experiences and the differences between India and America together in this series of blogs. So the blog title: India Vs America.

So... to get started with a Disclaimer: I would like to hereby declare that all the thoughts and opinions expressed in this blog series are my personal perceptions and opinions, you may agree or disagree with some/many/all of them :)

How did I decide to note down all the points? I was here in Jan 08. It was a winter here in Seattle. All cold outside, and just after a week after my arrival, I experienced a heavy snow fall. So, the thing came to my mind that I should note down these all differences and experiences. Any ways, enough background for now. Coming to the topic, the first and foremost difference I noticed was the Weather! It's so much of a contrast out here!!! Right now, its hot outside my home. Around 25 degrees i.e. 77 degree Fahrenheits! Yes! You guessed it right... The temperatures are measured in Fahrenheits. This was really something new initially. Now a days, I always talk in "Fahrenheits" even if I talk to my dad! The reason I said there is a huge contrast is because when I landed here in Seattle, it was drizzling and the temperature was around 35-40 deg F. i.e. around 2-4 degree Celsius. More interesting fact about weather is, it rains for around 9 to 10 months round the year. And the remaining months are so called the "SUNNY" days!

Without changing the context, the next difference I would like to mention is the other measurement Units. The Fahrenheit is not the only difference! The distance is measured in Miles,feet inches, Weights in Oz (Ounce) and Lb (Pounds), Volumes in Gallons and fluid ounces, Speeds in MPH and last but not the least the currency in Dollars $$$ :) Thank god, the time is measured in Seconds, minutes and hours universally. :)

The whole system of units and measurements drove me nuts in my initial days. Right now I have become an expert in FPS and SI system and the conversion. ( With my converter utility in the cell phone! :))

The next thing I would like to talk about is the US itself! Why America is a developed country? I always used to wonder. I got the answers slowly as I got acquainted with the systems out here. The US itself is a huge system consisting of many systems. Let it be a traffic control system, licensing system, Social Security Number system (called "SSN" OR "Social" only) or even take an example of the road crossing system for the pedestrians! There are many systems working efficiently for the betterment of a citizen's life. Yes! The government of United States cares the most for their citizens. The SSN is a first and foremost thing that you need to apply for after you become a permanent/temporary resident of the States. This is your social security number used to track your financial, social and other transaction through out the time period for which you are staying in US. The funny thing here is, the better the credit history, better your status! I observed this strange situation for the first time in my life. In India, the person who has got least debts and highest assets is called as a person with good social and financial status. It's not the case in the US. So, as a part of the process, I went ahead and started with my bank account. After getting the SSN, I was eligible for the "Secure" Credit card. The Secure Credit card is a card issued by the bank with the baking of your own money! i.e. If I deposit $1000 towards my creidt card then I get the credit line of $1000 against it! So funny.... Isn't it? They are creating my credit history with my own money! This thing goes on for an year and then it gets tracked via SSN and the Credit History regulations etc. After an year, they increase the credit line depending on my track record! Really interesting process...

Any ways, once again coming back to the subject, I would like to continue with the same topic... But in my next post... Till then take care and have a nice time folks!!!